Economy

Sri Lanka Among Countries Closing Out Complex Debt Restructurings

Published

5 hours ago

April 17, 2026

Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process is nearing completion, with significant progress recorded across negotiations and implementation, according to the latest 6th Co-Chairs Progress Report released by the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) on April 15.

The report states that most sovereign debt restructuring cases launched during 2021 and 2022 have now been largely completed, including Sri Lanka’s, which was carried out outside the G20 Common Framework. Sri Lanka’s restructuring now involves only a small number of residual commercial creditors, while the signing of bilateral agreements with official creditors is well advanced, though not yet fully finalized.

According to the GSDR, Sri Lanka successfully completed the fourth review of its IMF-supported program in July 2025. In December 2025, following a severe cyclone, the country also received emergency financing under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument. In parallel, the World Bank provided up to US$120 million in emergency support by repurposing funds from ongoing projects to assist recovery efforts and restore essential services and infrastructure.

The report notes that Sri Lankan authorities continue to engage in good-faith negotiations with the remaining commercial creditors. Residual debt yet to be restructured is estimated at about 1.7 percent of Sri Lanka’s total external debt within the restructuring perimeter as of end-2023, indicating that the bulk of the process has already been completed.

Economy

SLTB earns Rs. 1 b in six days during c services

Published

1 day ago

April 16, 2026

admin

The Sri Lanka Transport Board has earned Rs. 1 billion in revenue within six days by providing transport services during the New Year season, its chairman Sajeeva Nandana Kanagaratne said.

Speaking at a media briefing today, he stated that the income was generated by facilitating passengers travelling to their hometowns for the New Year.

He further noted that April 11 was recorded as the highest revenue-earning day in the organisation’s history, with earnings reaching Rs. 213 million.

Meanwhile, the National Transport Commission announced that special bus services will operate from today to transport passengers returning to Colombo and other major cities following the festive period.

Economy

Sri Lanka literacy hits record 97.4%, gender gap closes for first time

Published

5 days ago

April 12, 2026

admin

Sri Lanka has achieved a historic education milestone, with literacy rising to 97.4% in 2024, up from 95.7% in 2012.

For the first time since 1881, the literacy gender gap has closed, with males at 97.9% and females at 97.0%.

Digital literacy has reached 67.6%, while computer literacy stands at 34.7%, highlighting Sri Lanka’s growing digital transformation.

Economy

$ 900 m in four months: Port City Colombo signals new investment era

Published

6 days ago

April 11, 2026

admin

From November 2025 to March, Port City Colombo secured approximately $ 900 million in investments, an almost unprecedented surge for a project that had seen gradual traction in its early years amid broader macroeconomic challenges. The timing is not accidental.

After a prolonged period marked by the Easter Sunday attacks, the global shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Sri Lanka’s economic collapse, the project remained largely in a holding pattern.

International marketing efforts began to gain momentum from late 2025 onwards, as conditions began to stabilise.

“The macro story had to align first,” Aluwihare explained. “You cannot market a country when the fundamentals are unstable. Now, we are seeing recovery, policy alignment, and growing confidence, and we are finally seeing the results.”

From real estate to a ring-fenced financial ecosystem

Port City Colombo’s most significant transformation has been conceptual rather than physical. Originally envisioned as a waterfront real estate development, it has evolved into a fully ring-fenced services export Special Economic Zone (SEZ), enabled by the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act.